China to focus on economic restructuring in 2010

China's economy is steady with an upward trend and the worst over, said Yao Jingyuan, chief economist with the National Bureau of Statistics. China has succeeded in ensuring an 8 percent economic growth rate and will focus on deeper economic restructuring in 2010.

In the first half of 2009, net export dragged China's GDP growth down by 2.9 percentage points. Yao pointed out that this reflected the uncertainty in China's economic recovery. Although China's economy is growing steadily, some fundamental problems including economic structure remain unsolved. China's macro control will focus on ensuring growth, expanding domestic demand and economic restructuring.

Yao noted that in the post crisis era, more attention should be paid to economic restructuring, market expansion and the effect of the market mechanism. Avoiding blind and duplicate construction is an important issue in restructuring. Making enterprises, especially private enterprises, play the main role in restructuring is a fundamental solution to this issue.

Overcapacity was not the result of the 4-trillion stimulus package, said Yao. Between 2003 and 2007, China's high economic growth rate and booming overseas demand resulted in the huge capacity in China. The global financial crisis has slowed down China's economic growth rate and hurt global demand. Those were the main reasons for China's overcapacity problem, said Yao.